Ancel
went for a non-cluttered visual window to work in
so you won't have to worry about watching health or
ammunition gauges as everything you need to know is
learned by giving you either visual or aural clues.
If you are attacked the screen will go red. If you
don't get to safety in enough time or are attacked
again, the game will end and you'll restart at the
current checkpoint for the level you are. Driscoll
will provide you with a running tally of the ammo
you have left when things are getting low so you'll
have an idea when you need to jettison your firearm.
No having to rely on a HUD display is a fantastic
way to immerse yourself in the action at hand.

And
there will be plenty of action to go around; the many
enemies in the game will see to that. Certain instances
will occur in PJKKTOGOTM where you are completely
helpless and your only hope for survival is to not
get eaten. The V-Rex species which likes to make a
cameo every once in awhile appear only to keep the
undergarment laundry industry in business as you can't
take these mighty beasts down; at best you can distract
them, but you won't be hanging their heads on display
at the country club. However a certain 25 foot tall
ape might have a bananas chance in hell of kicking
some dinosaur butt.

Playing
the game as King Kong is greatly satisfying after
being chased down and attacked by the bullies of Skull
Island. This is your revenge and it feels mighty good.
Playing from an over the shoulder perspective, Kong
has an impressive array of moves which either provide
his locomotion (climbing, swinging) or his violent
attacks which includes punching, biting, throwing,
jawbreakers and a fury mode. Unfortunately it's short
lived excitement as the majority of the game consists
of the FPS portion featuring Jack Driscoll, but it's
still a lot of fun nonetheless.

Speaking
of visuals, there won't be too many gamers out there
unimpressed with the look of the game on any system.
While the Xbox 360 and the PC version definitely shine
brighter (and so they should) console owners won't
be disappointed in the slightest unless they've been
hogging the Xbox 360 kiosk at the local EB for hours
on end. The character models and the beasties lurking
within the game are excellent. The surrounding landscapes
are lush while at the same time swathed in a blanket
of shadowy despair, permeating the experience with
a constant foreboding aura. Once you get into Kong
territory and start raining blows down on the various
creatures, you'll marvel at the great beasts animations
as he tears into the competition.

The
voiceacting, soundtrack and sound effects are topnotch
all the way. In fact, I'd say the roar of the V-Rex
probably steals the show from Kong himself. When that
dino screamed, I perked up my freakin' ears...and
so did everyone in my house (until I turned the volume
down).

Unfortunately
it's impossible to maintain the dramatic tension of
a movie over a game that lasts about 8 hours (depending
on the difficulty level) and PJKKTOGOTM succumbs to
repetition somewhere around the 50% mark. You'll engage
in numerous skirmishes on the island that eventually
lose their luster and you'll be counting down the
time until you play as the mighty Kong. As mentioned,
the Kong levels comprise approximately 25% of the
entire game culminating in a New York battle which
could have been far more ambitious than it turned
out (that's where the alternate ending comes in but
I won't spoil it here). As far as extras, replay value
is provided in an interesting way. As you progress,
you'll unlock various achievements. At 9%, you will
be given a code which is you can enter on a special
King Kong Ubi Soft website. There are three online
codes you will eventually earn which unlock bonuses
in the game. Replaying the game once you've beaten
it the first time around allows you to play for points.
Earn enough points and you'll unlock the online codes.

Certainly
PJKKTOGOTM is not what we'd call a next gen game in
terms of gameplay as there is isn't anything featured
that we haven't already seen over the last few years,
but it sure looks next gen if you're playing it on
the X360 on an HDTV in high res. It's a fun romp though
and definitely a welcome companion to the upcoming
movie. There are countless tense moments playing as
Jack and my only complaint is not playing as the featured
star more than we were given the opportunity. It's
a completely different flavor of FPS and might appeal
to both sides of the fence - those that love FPS and
those that usually shy away from them. So quit monkeying
around and get on over to Skull Island and enjoy the
scenery...while it lasts.

By
Vaughn SmithCCC
Site Director

Rating
out of 5

King
Kong (Xbox 360)

4.3

Graphics
The better the system you're playing on
the better the looks. Current gen owners
won't be jealous as long as they don't nose
around an X360 kiosk and check out the Kong
demo.

4.7

Control
As pick up and play as you can get. Both
the FPS and Kong aspects of the game control
beautifully.

4.8

Music
/ Sound FX / Voice Acting
From the terrifying roar of the V-Rex to
Kong himself, the sound effects, musical
score and voice acting are excellent.

3.8

Play
Value
We said it before "We need more Kong".
Had the game been more 50/50 we would have
preferred that. Ubi Soft added replay value
with online codes and point values for levels
once the game is completed.

4.5

Overall
Rating -
Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend above
for a final score breakdown.

Do
you remember that Nintendo cereal? It was a breakfast
delight, one part Fruity Super Mario, and one part
Berry Legend of Zelda. I mean honestly, two for
the price of one is a very good deal in my book.
That is why Peter Jackson's King Kong seems to have
such a high standing on my "Games to Get"
list. Not because you run around the crazy giant
island in FPS mode, chucking spears and shooting
dinosaurs, but rather because the first person mode
is only the first part of the game. Whoa, two games
for the price of one? Yes, because the second part
is where sweet sugar high lies, crowning you King.

Weird
analogies and foreshadowing aside, to date, Peter
Jackson's King Kong (or PJKK) looks more like a
really, really good Jurassic Park. Skull Island,
the island where our heroic team stumbles upon our
big hairy bosom buddy, is chock full of giant creatures.
Most notably are dinosaurs. The cool thing about
being a giant creature in a Next-Gen game is: the
food chain.

PJKK
recreates Skull Island as an actual living island.
A sort of eco-system, or food chain system, has
been implemented to create a sense of unpredictability.
What this means is that anything bigger than you
will go after you. Lucky for us, we're not the only
creatures on the island. Bigger creatures will go
after smaller creatures as well. So if you're under
attack by say, a giant scorpion, you should hope
that something that likes to eat scorpions comes
along to save your hide.

I
don't want to ruin it for you, well I kinda do,
but this system reaches its pinnacle on a level
featuring 2 T-Rex dinosaurs chasing their dinner.
That dinner being, you. And right when you reach
that dead end and all hope seems to be lost, Skull
Island's eco-system saves the day and brings in
King Kong. But what does King Kong do to the T-Rex?
That's completely up to you.

This
is the part of the game that really gets me hyped.
You will get to take on the role of King Kong in
third person mode fighting off the T-Rex. The hairy
God has an amazing display of brute strength. Three
primary attacks are known at this point: A round
house punch, a two-fisted slam which shakes the
ground and knocks down your opponents, and an amazing
"finishing move." King Kong will drop
the
T-Rex like a bad habit, then pick it up by its mouth
and rip the thing apart. This hopefully hints that
the Big Screen Kong will be a big, bad, brutal gorilla
and not just girl-crazy.

First
person shooter slash third person ape-chase, King
Kong is looking absolutely gorgeous. With only a
tiny bit of information on game play released, it
will be hard to gage just how fun this game will
be. However, if the graphics and the King Kong